Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, November 2019

2019 November - Page to be confirmed!Join us in the footsteps of Jesus!

Your guides will be Nayaswami Anand and Nayaswami Kirtani, the spiritual director of Ananda Assisi, with Nayaswami Premi di Benedetto. You will explore with them the mystical places of Jesus Christ and of other great saints.

Come with us on this unforgettable pilgrimage following in the footsteps of Jesus, where we will visit Nazareth, Mount Tabor, the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias), Mount Carmel, Mount of Beatitude, Capernaum, Qumran, the Dead Sea, Jericho, the Jordan River, Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

Walking in the footsteps of Jesus and other great Masters is a deep and transforming experience. The places where these great souls have lived have been made sacred by their presence and by the devotion of all those who have visited them with love over the years. For this reason, pilgrimage has always been an important component of all religious and spiritual traditions: a precious opportunity for purification and to receive great blessings for one’s life.

Yogananda writes in his Autobiography of a Yogi about his pilgrimage there in 1935, “Wandering day after day over the Holy Land, I was more than ever convinced of the value of pilgrimage. The spirit of Christ is all-pervasive in Palestine; I walked reverently by his side at Bethlehem, Gethsemane, Calvary, the holy Mount of Olives, and by the River Jordan and the Sea of Galilee. Our little party visited the Birth Manger, Joseph's carpenter shop, the tomb of Lazarus, the house of Martha and Mary, the hall of the Last Supper. Antiquity unfolded; scene by scene, I saw the divine drama that Christ once played for the ages.”

A pilgrimage with Ananda is an unforgettable experience, made up of deep attunement, inspiring spiritual practices, joyful chanting and sharing. With Ananda, you are much more than a tourist or a pilgrim: You are part of a spiritual family that includes members and friends from Ananda centers around the world. You will be accompanied by Ananda teachers who have guided pilgrimages for years and will share with enthusiasm their knowledge, both practical and spiritual, of this beautiful country. We work with a very experienced tour agency in Israel. This special pilgrimage is led by Kirtani and Anand Stickney with Premi di Benedetto.

Therefore we warmly invite you to join us in this unforgettable pilgrimage in the footsteps of Jesus:

Visit the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth and the Church of St. Joseph, and the ancient synagogue where Jesus announced that he was the Messiah

- The Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) where Jesus chose some of his disciples and addressed the crowd from the boat, calmed the storm, and appeared to his disciples after the resurrection

- Tabgha with the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the place where the third encounter of Jesus with his disciples happened

- Cafernao, where Jesus preached and performed many miracles

- Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount

- Mount Tabor, a place of retreat and contemplation, the holy mountain, with the Basilica of the Transfiguration of Jesus

- Mount Carmel, where Elijah challenged the priests of Baal, with a cave dedicated to the memory of the prophet Elijah and a shrine dedicated to the Virgin of Carmel

- The Jordan River, where John baptized Jesus

- The Dead Sea, 416 m. below sea level

- Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls where found in 1946 and which was the location of the spiritual community of the Essenes

- Jericho, Mount of Temptation

- Bethlehem: the Shepherds' Field and the Church of the Nativity

- Jerusalem: Visit the Old City of Jerusalem, the Wailing Wall (the most important place in Judaism), the Temple Mount with the El-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock (cannot be visited inside), the Jaffa gate, Mount Zion, the room of the cenacle, the tomb of David and the church of the Dormition of Mary. We will have the opportunity to pray in the church of St. Anna and the pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the paralytic. Other highlights are the meditation in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives and travel along the Way of the Cross (Via Dolorosa), arriving at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre.

Hotels

YMCA Hotel 3 Arches Gerusalemm (4 nights).

Program Fees

The following fees are a close approximation, based on the information we have at hand (E1 = $1.10). Due to possible fluctuations in the exchange rate and in the cost of oil, which affect costs of flights and other transportation, as well as hotel accommodations, these fees might change slightly.

Accommodation in double room, with no flight: ca. E1675.00

Supplement for single room: ca. E550.00

The price includes:

- Assistance on arrival and departure by our local staff- Air-conditioned GT bus for the duration of the tour- Accommodation as mentioned above in a double room with bath- Half board from dinner on the first day to breakfast on the last day- Local guide for the duration of the tour- All required entrance fees - Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee

The price does not include:

- Flight to Tel Aviv (there will be a group flight)

- Tips of E40 need to be paid upon arrival to cover all restaurants, porters, tourguides etc,

- personal expenses and anything not mentioned

If you are interested and/or would like to join us in this wonderful and very inspiring journey, please write to us or call us.